Photography is the artistic brainchild of the Romantic Era, going from an unknown form of capturing the physical world to spreading around the world by the end of the 1840s with the invention of the Daguerreotype by Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre (Gernheim, Grundberg, Newhall, Rosenblum). This early form of photography helped to spread images of historical events and famous monuments and people to the public, especially in the newspapers of the era. This was exemplified during the American Civil War as photojournalists were able to capture the aftermath and carnage of the horrible conflict to show the public. However, photography as an art form also took off during this era.
Photography as Art
These photos exemplify both the style of early photography and the art forms of the Romantic Era. For example, the photograph of the lake in Canejos Canon, Colorado shows a reflective lake with a background valley that disappears off into the distant mists. Both the soft focus of the background and the sharply focused foreground trees makes the viewer focus on the lake. Additionally, a similar style is present in the photo of a Venetian Canal. This image is very artistic with the subtle blurring of the reflected buildings, contrasting the sharp curves of the docked boats. While both of these photographs do not have the range of color that paintings of this era presented, they are able to depict sharp contrast and the subtle blurring of background artifacts.
Photographers
Timothy O’Sullivan (1840-1882) was an American photographer from New York City. O’Sullivan was a major earlier photographer whose photos were included in Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War, which was the first published collection of photographs from the Civil War (Timothy H. O’Sullivan).
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) was an American Photographer, born in Hoboken, New Jersey. Stieglitz was known as a founder of the Photo-Secessionist and Pictorialist movements (Alfried Stieglitz). The Photo-Secessionist movement especially expressed Stieglitz’s agenda of promoting photography as its own, separate art form (Szarkowski).
Romantic Comparisons
It may seem like a stretch to compare such colorful Romantic scenery with black and white images; however, they are more alike then they seem. For example, both the photographs and the above paintings use reflections and blurred backgrounds to put focus on their primary subjects. O’Sullivan’s photograph matches the background haze of Thomas Moran’s Autumn on the Wissahickon. Overall, while they have vastly different techniques the styles of these two art forms mirror each other in their subjects and execution.
Personally, I find that these early photos, while not as vibrant or expressive as the other Romantic artistic styles, comes with its own unique style. I especially like how these early photographers used the overexposure of light colors in their pictures to fade out the backgrounds and focus your attention on the main subject. Even with their early technology, these photographers were able to find the artistic edge within their field and exploit it to give the arts of the Romantic Era a whole new feel and experience.
Sources
“Alfred Stieglitz.” The J. Paul Getty Museum. n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/1815/alfred-stieglitz-american-1864-1946/
Gernsheim, Helmut Erich Robert, Andy Grundberg, Beaumont Newhall, Naomi Rosenblum. “History of Photography.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica Academic. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/457919/history-of-photography/
Szarkowski, John. “Alfred Stieglitz.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Inc. 2016. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Stieglitz
“Timothy H. O’Sullivan.” The J. Paul Getty Museum. n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2016. http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/1892/timothy-h-o’sullivan-american-about-1840-1882/
jbeedleuaf 
I completely agree that early photography is a wonderful form of art that is very evocative! It almost seems to me that the stark contrast of the black and white photography boils down the beauty of a scene to just the essentials. Paintings, however vibrant and beautiful, just don’t capture that raw quality of nature and human beings the way early photography did! Just think how we are all recreating these effects with filters now!
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